Sadie's legs

Well we finally have internet again! Yay! We switched internet companies and it has taken FOREVER to get the new company to do their thing!! Anyways..now I can finally update about Sadie's legs....

As most of you know, we were told by the orthopedic specialist in Springdale that she would need braces to correct her legs and he wanted to send us to a children's orthopedic specialist in Tulsa because if her legs did not straighten up after the braces then Tulsa would be the place where she would have surgery to correct them.

So on May 14th, we headed to our appointment with Dr. Capeheart. As you can imagine, we were pretty nervous. I had cried several times because I knew that it would be so hard on Sadie. We had read that the braces would have to be worn 23 out of 24 hours!!! Sadie is a very active 21 month old so we knew this would be very difficult and she would NOT be a happy girl with something on her legs all day long. Dr. Capeheart came in and looked her legs over and decided to do some more x-rays (for some reason our Dr. in Springdale sent no x-rays or information to Dr. Capeheart's office?!?!) So Brandon took her back to the x-ray room (I couldn't go cause I'm pregnant...boo!) and then we all waited for the results.

Finally, he brought the x-ray in to show us and to discuss what he thought. He said he was going to go through a couple of diseases that children usually have when they have these types of leg problems and show us what her legs (more specifically her knee caps) would be doing if she had any of these diseases. First, it was some REALLY long name that I can't remember (ha) and said if she had this disease, her knee caps would look a certain way (which they didn't) so he said it wasn't that disease. Next, he talked about Rickets disease (I'm sure some of you have heard about it). Rickets disease is caused from a Vitamin D deficiency (which breast fed babies usually are lacking vitamin d..) and said that it didn't appear that she had this. Then he moved on to Blount's disease which is what the Springdale orthopedic specialist told us she more than likely had. Dr. Capeheart said at this point it doesn't look like she really has Blount's. If it does turn out to be Blount's, leg braces should correct it (with no surgery!! YAY!) Blount's is usually worse in African-American children and they may have problems with it their whole life. White children usually outgrow theirs (sometimes on their own) pretty early and have no life-long problems with it. Great news!!

Also, we have always been worried about her hips because she tends to hold them and rub her back and hip area a lot (especially when she walks). We have asked 3 times for x-rays on her hips and 3 times they haven't done it and we've been told..."Oh nothing is wrong with her hips." (guess they had x-ray vision....grr..) So, thankfully, Dr. Capeheart got her hips in his x-ray and he told us that her hips looked great (we didn't even have to ask!)

So he wants to keep an eye on her legs. He was fairly certain that she wouldn't develop any of these diseases and that her legs would straighten out on their own (PLEASE God!) In children under 2, they have a harder time diagnosing these leg problems and diseases because their knee caps don't really start showing problems on the x-rays until age 2 and then they can be more easily identified. Sadie is right on that borderline. It should show on her x-rays but it may not because of her age..So it's just a waiting game.

We were extremely happy (ok, we both cried after hearing the news) because we fully expected to come home with Sadie in braces! It was odd, because the x-rays looked WAY better than they had a few weeks ago in Springdale. Brandon and I got to talking on the way home about the series of x-rays that she's had and thought..the first x-ray she had in back in October(ish), she was laying down. The second x-ray in April she was standing up. Then this last x-ray in Tulsa she was laying down..Her worst x-ray was in April (while standing). So we wonder if that has anything to do with things looking better or if it was a God thing? I would prefer to think God is healing her but we are still going to ask Dr. Capeheart when we go back in August. But PRAISE GOD that for now she doesn't have to have any treatment and no braces!

Please continue to pray with us for these specific things:

**NO pain for Sadie-she still complains when we walk and she still falls a lot.

**That when we go back in August that everything will be straight with no bowing!

**That we are at the right place (Doctor-wise) Anyone else ever worry they are taking their children to the right doctors? I do!

Thank you all so much for the thoughts and prayers you are sending up for us. It means so much to us and we really appreciate it!